Nevada -1½ vs UL Lafayette
Nevada -1½ -101 over UL Lafayette

BEST LINE: Pinnacle -1½ -101

R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Posted Friday at 2:00 PM EST

Saturday December 20, 2014 – 11:00 AM EST. This match-up features the Sun Belt champion versus an at-large opponent. In this year’s edition, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns will be filling in for the Sun Belt Champion Georgia Southern, whom lost their appeal to enter a bowl game while under FBS probation. Incidentally, Georgia Southern finished 8-0 in the Sun Belt and 9-3 overall but will nevertheless watch the affair from home. The Ragin’ Cajuns enter with only loss within their conference to the aforementioned Eagles. They showcase a prolific and multi-layered rushing attack that is centered by sensational quarterback Terrance Broadway and running backs Alonzo Harris and Elijah McGuire. That’s nice but the Sun Belt conference is unanimously regarded as the weakest conference in the FBS and its runner-up is now being asked to take on a better than advertised Nevada team.

The Wolf Pack features a true dual-threat weapon that can catalyze their offense at any given moment and his name is Cody Farjado. This match-up as a whole, has offense written all over it and is expected to be a high-scoring shootout like many other New Orleans Bowls that have preceded this 2014 edition. For Nevada, Farjado is their key to victory. On the year, using both his legs and his arm, Farjado has accumulated over 3,000 yards of total offense and 31 total touchdowns. Farjado has operated Chris Polk’s Pistol Offense impeccably, providing four years of quality production when he replaced current San Francisco starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick. For Fajardo, a bowl victory would be a fitting conclusion to his successful collegiate career and he figures to be completely jacked up too. You see, the Wolf Pack did not make it to a bowl game last year. In 2012, however, Farjado and the Wolf Pack played Arizona and lost by one-point (49-48) as a 9½-point pooch. Nevada was competitive against elite completion this season which includes losses to Colorado State, Boise State and Arizona by a combined 19 points. That showcased their ability to be viable against the Power 5 and the top tier of the Mountain West and now this highly motivated bunch takes a huge step down in class. College teams face significantly disparate schedules, yet nearly half of them reach the postseason on the basis of win-loss records alone. There are therefore a few bowl entrants each year that are really below-average FBS teams. We’ll look to play against a nine-win group here and we’ll do so spotting a cheap price.  



Our Pick

Nevada -1½ -101 (Risking 2.02 units - To Win: 2.00)